AEX falls almost 1% as Philips rises after results

Amsterdam’s AEX closed almost 1% lower on Tuesday, even as Philips rose nearly 5% after reporting higher quarterly sales. The MidKap index fell 0.6%, while London, Paris and Frankfurt also ended down by as much as 1%.

Philips’ revenue increased on sales of medical equipment, toothbrushes and electric shavers, according to ANP. Semiconductor stocks recovered some ground after falling in morning trading following a weaker-than-expected quarterly report from Apple: chipmaker Besi rose 1.7% and ASMI gained 0.3%, while ASML fell 1.6%.

The AEX ended at 1,121.76 points and the MidKap at 1,103.98. Brent crude fell 1.3% to $103.30 a barrel. Shell, an oil and gas producer, lost more than 1%.

Among smaller listed companies, electric-bus maker Ebusco plunged 25%. The company postponed October salary payments for staff because of acute financial problems and said it deeply regretted the delay.

In Frankfurt, online retailer Zalando fell more than 6%, despite reporting record active customers and higher revenue and profit. It kept its reduced forecast for the year. Lufthansa gained nearly 4% after quarterly results that beat expectations, but lowered its profit outlook for this year because of higher fuel costs.